Blog Tour - The Death of Ink by M.M. John Review and Giveaway

Title: The Death of Ink

Author: M.M. John

Published: January 30, 2014

Series: The Death of Ink #1

Format Read/Pages: ebook/246

How I Acquired It: Itching for Books

Date Finished: January 19, 2014

Find it at: Amazon | Goodreads

Paige Langley’s life has always revolved around good grades and escaping her less than ideal home life…but once she meets Devon Connors, her life drastically changes.

Although, they share an instant attraction, Devon’s concealing a dark past. And an even darker secret…there’s a dead girl haunting him nightly.

Resolute to win the school’s writing contest, Paige will do just about anything to achieve her goals. So after she finds a binder containing information on a past murder and the illegal activities of the students, she believes the stories are fictional and the perfect way to win the contest.

But the owner of the manuscript, Devon Connors, has other plans. To keep Paige from exposing his secrets, Devon befriends her and even offers to help her write a winning story for the contest.

The chemistry between Paige and Devon is undeniable, but Paige doesn’t know if she can trust him. The deeper she digs into the dark underbelly of their high school, the more she realizes that some secrets are better left buried.

~

This story was a slow start, but it sure builds the suspense. There are a lot of intersecting elements that can be found in The Death of Ink, which in the end leave us a bit confused but wanting more. John weaves a very intricate story that keeps you engrossed and wanting to find out just what is really going on.

I enjoyed both of the main characters, they each brought something interesting to the mix and it worked well together. Paige is striving to make a name for herself as the winner of a writing contest, if only to fund her other expeditions in life, as well as, to get out of the shadow of her last name. A name that is associated with deadbeats and teen pregnancies. Devon is trying to deal with the fact that a dead girl visits him in the middle of the night and convince his family that things are getting better for him. Both of these high school seniors are struggling to go about their day to day lives and make the most of it all, and along the way they find solace in each other.

I must say that the ending was very abrupt and left me wondering what had just happened, I can only home that John plans to explain further in the next installment.

3 Stars

About the Author

College student by day, clandestine writer by night, M. M. John lives in a Florida town full of ghosts, mysteries and secrets. The Death of Ink is her first novel.

mmjohnbooks.wordpress.com 

Make sure to check out all the stops on The Death of Ink tour! 

The full schedule is available at Itching for Books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to Shane at IFB and M.M. John for the chance to participate in this tour!

American Library Association 2014 Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia!!

This past weekend I had a chance to attend the ALA Midwinter Conference that was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center here in Philadelphia. It was three days of glorious book overload. I currently have a roommate that is a children's library for the Free Library of Philadelphia and she was the one who really turned me on to the idea of going.

There were some things that I could not attend, as they were for ALA members only, but all the best things were open for my enjoyment. The exhibit hall was what I imagine heaven to be like, rows upon rows of book publishers handing out ARCs and showcasing recently published titles. The booth size definitley depended upon the publishers. I found that the smaller publishers were more interested in talking and answering questions about their books than the larger ones, but everyone was very pleasant and helpful. The largest booths were for HarperCollins, Penguin, and Random House.

I went all three days that were open to the public and lets just say I went a little crazy. Saturday was the first day that I could attend and lets just say I was a little overwhelmed, people were literally handing me tote bags to fill with books and I couldn't have been more excited. I only stayed for a little while because I had to work that afternoon, I ended up coming home with a modest 17 books. Some of them I had no idea about, but either sounded interesting or the cover drew me in.

Sunday is when things started going downhill. I went early in the morning thinking I would beat some of the rush and I was right, but it became a very dangerous thing for my back and arms. With less people around I was able to take more time to really look through the booths and at the books, which of course, made me pick up sooo many more than the day before. I was only there for an hour and a half and I went a little book crazy. I ended up bringing home 50 books!A cab was necessary to get home because there was no way I could have made the ten minute walk from the el to my house. I got mostly ARCs this day, with a few already published books in the mix.

Monday was probably my favorite day of all three. As it was the last day of the conference a lot of the publishers were giving away their display books (ranging from ARCs to published hardcovers) away. There were long lines and waiting, but I was able to get in pretty early for all three of the bigger publishers and get some great books. I came away with almost twenty really nice hardcovers that would have set me back quite a bit. Monday yielded me another 34 books.

Overall, after those three days I came away with over 100 books!! All FREE!!! For a student in college that loves to read this is pretty amazing and I had a great weekend. Over the next few weeks I am going to be doing a meme that is very prevalent in the blogging community and is hosted by Tynga's Reviews, Stacking the Shelves. Because there is over 100 books to showcase I am thinking about doing them in groups of ten, that way it is not an overly long post and I can make a little blurb about each one.

Something that I was a little disappointed to not take mart in was the Rainbow Rowell book signing. She was signing hardcover copies of Fangirl and I really would have liked to be there but had to work that afternoon. (I ended up getting an unsigned copy the next day, so I am still happy!) I really had a great time and can't wait to start reading some of these books!

Crashing into You by B.D. Rowe

Title: Crashing into You

Author: B.D. Rowe

Published: October 1, 2013

Format Read/Pages: eBook/212

How I Acquired It: NetGalley
Date Finished: December 26, 2013

Find it at: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads 

Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to.

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend.

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more.

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart.

~

This book made me sooooo mad. I was on the verge of ripping my hair out while reading this. Sydney has to be the most unlucky person to ever be written into this world. So unlucky, that it starts to be very unbelievable. I am not going to get into too much detail, because then it would spoil the whole story, but I will outline some of my greater frustrations.

How do you not check on your roommate, who has been sleeping in the bed above you, for DAYS!?!?!? Taking one little glance at a foot sticking out of the covers is not the same as checking on a person when they are sick. I had mono my freshman year of college and was stuck in bed for almost two weeks straight. Everyday my roommate made sure that I was okay and would ask if I needed anything while she was out, that is what people do. Okay, so you didn’t check on her, fine. But when the room started to smell wouldn’t you think something was really wrong? Or try and find the source of said smell? The idiocy this girl possessed made me question how she got into college in the first place.

The relationship between Syd and Evan left me feeling unsettled. I understand that traumatic experiences pull people together, but I don’t know if I could be in a relationship with a boy if I had a hand (although unintentional) in killing his girlfriend. Or, if I found out that he was one of the main reasons that she drank so much in the first place and that he had been lying to me about it for months.

Crashing into You was not an enjoyable read in the slightest. The story was not the most horrible thing I have ever read, but for all this to happen to one person seems really improbable. The absurdity of it all was what really turned me off and I think that if things were less dramatic that it all would have been easier to swallow. 

2 Stars

Accidentally in Love with ... A God? by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Title: Accidentally in Love with... a God?

Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Published: March 5, 2013

Series?: Accidentally Yours #1

Format Read/Pages: eBook/288

How I Acquired It: NetGalley

Date Finished: December 26, 2013

Trapped for decades, a powerful god seeks freedom ... and revenge. But the only thing that can save him is the passion of a woman's touch …

Emma Keane is your average city girl trying to get a date. There's just one thing holding her back: the disembodied male voice speaking to her through her mind. Sound kind of crazy? Maybe. But crazy turns downright deadly when the voice persuades her to travel to the wilds of the Mayan jungle. There she will free his body-his incredibly hot, muscled, naked body.

Humans are so frail, so undisciplined, so susceptible to love. And when this ancient being connects with Emma, the feelings she sparks drive him utterly mad. Protective, keep-her-close, never-let-her-go kind of mad. Which might not be such a bad thing because from the moment the beautiful, passionate Emma unshackles his body, they are hunted at every turn. Now he'll have to do everything in his power to keep her safe. But will it be enough?

~

I was torn when reading this, I really wanted to like the characters and plot, but there was something about it that just made me feel meh. It was all entertaining enough, but I could not really devote myself to the story because it was a bit all over the place. The over arcing story was told in a bit of an odd way, that made it hard for me to connect with it all, even the information on the gods was hard to come by, which I think could have made the story more entertaining, to know more about these deities and their escapades.  

Emma was hard to stand at times, her back and forth on whether Guy’s controlling and jealous actions made me want to yell at her and tell her to make up her mind. Either tell him to shove off or accept it. But please, stop complaining about it. Some of what happened was very predictable, especially what happened between Tommaso and Emma, as well as who would ultimately betray them.

Overall, it was an okay read, I did not dislike it. I enjoyed the writing and witty remarks. I just could not get too invested in the love story, as I did not feel as though the two leads were right for each other. I am also confused as to how the whole series works. Are they all companion novels and novellas? Or are there sequels mixed in? I don’t really know. I might check out another one just to find out, and see if I like the protagonists better than I did in this one. 

3 Stars

Further reading in the Accidentally Yours series:

1. Accidentally in Love with...a God?
2. Accidentally Married to...a Vampire?
3. Sun God Seeks...Surrogate?
4. Accidentally...Evil? (a Novella)
5. Vampires Need Not...Apply?
6. Accidentally...Cimil? (a Novella)
7. Accidentally...Over? (Coming in August2014)

Blog Tour - Psycho Inside Me by Bonnie R. Paulson Review & Giveaway

Title: Psycho Inside Me

Author: Bonnie R. Paulson

Published: November 30, 2013

Format Read/Pages: eBook/171

How I Acquired It: Itching For Books

Date Finished: January 11, 2014

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N

I killed my first victim at thirteen years old – my age, not his. He was going to rape me, him and a couple of his friends. And so, I killed him. And then… I killed again. And again.

At seventeen, I’m killing four to six times a year – maybe more. Don’t stress out. I only go after the pedophiles and rapists. There are more out there than I could cover in a lifetime.

Saying I did this on my own would be selfish. Enforcing justice holds a glory all its own. But now, my lifelong friend and backup, Deegan, has been arrested. I have to decide if I want to give myself up and take his place or leave him with all the damning evidence. I don’t want to stop killing. But if I let him take the fall, I can’t kill anymore. And I need to keep doing that.

But the worst part of it all? I love him.

~

Can we just acknowledge that blurb and how catching it really is? As soon as I had read it I knew that I needed to read Psycho Inside Me. It enraptured me and there was no way I could not find out what happens to Deegan and how this all came to be. Bonnie R. Paulson captivated me with a very intriguing premise and kept me interested all the way through.

Something that I really enjoyed was that we jump right into the story; it starts when Cassie, our main character, is thirteen years old and makes her first kill. Within the first ten pages we have the first kill and a promise of more. It starts out fast paced and never lets up. The writing style, I feel, fit when Cassie was young. It was a little all over the place and reminded me of the thoughts and interactions of a young teenager. I would have liked to see it grow right alongside her, but it pretty much stays the same throughout the book, this does not detract from the story though.

While I really liked Cassie, there were times she made me want to pull out my own hair! You would think that after the second killing, where Deegan saves her ass, she would realize that she should just include him in the beginning and save everyone the trouble of having to guess whether or not he will make it to her in time. Their relationship was fitting for this type of situation, even though his insistence that they not be together is what gets them in trouble in the long run.

The story was one that captivated me all the way through and had me on the edge of my seat for the last few chapters. I feel as though the outcome was perfect and was believable in the sense that it really could have turned out that way.

This was a nice fast paced and short read with one of the most original ideas that I have come across in a long while. It was a highly enjoyable, dark and gritty story that shows what can happen when children are forced to grow up too fast. Paulson has written a number of other books and I will definitely be checking some of them out!

4 Stars

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

There are people who know a lot about a little, we’ll call them experts. Then there are people, like Bonnie, who don’t specialize, but rather gather information like pebbles in their pockets and drop them like Hansel & Gretel in the stories they write.

The question is, do you want to follow them back?

Certified as a Radiologic Technologist, Bonnie prefers a touch of medical in her storylines. Don’t be surprised if romance somehow runs through a hospital or comes in contact with a paramedic. It’s just how she rolls. And you know there's nothing more romantic than an 18 gauge needle poking your vein!

She and her Hubs delight in dirt biking, snowboarding, fishing, cooking, eating, spending time together and more with their adorable children.

www.bonnierpaulson.com | twitter.com/bonnierpaulson | facebook.com/bonpaulson

Make sure to check out all the stops on the Psycho Inside Me tour! The full schedule is available at Itching for Books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to Shane at IFB and Bonnie R. Paulson for the chance to participate in this tour!

Blog Tour - Lingering Echoes by Erica Kiefer Review and Giveaway

Title: Lingering Echoes

Author: Erica Kiefer

Published: November 16, 2013

Format Read/Pages: eBook/278

How I Acquired It: Itching for Books

Date Finished: January 11, 2014

Purchase at: Amazon | B&N 

She's broken with guilt.
He harbors a chilling past.
It's safer if they keep their distance...
But, the echoes that linger connect them.

Returning to Hidden Pines is the last thing Allie Collins wants to do during her final summer before college. For her, the family cabin she spent her youthful summers in, now holds a dark memory that has haunted her every day for the last year.

While struggling to forget her past, Allie runs into Damien, a local rebel with secrets of his own. He's dark, dangerous and he keeps showing up when Allie least expects him to. She has every reason not to trust him. So why does she find herself opening up to him in a way she hasn't been able to with anyone?

As pieces of Damien’s identity emerge, answers to a rumored mystery begin to unfold. By the time Allie unearths the secrets of Damien’s past, she realizes just how intricately they are connected. Now she is caught in a dangerous battle that threatens her life and those she loves.

~

When I first started reading this story I didn’t think I was going to like it half as much as I did. It was tough to get into but once the story really started to develop it had my attention and did not let go. Erica Kiefer created a beautiful setting for Lingering Echoes and an amazing story to go along with it.

I really think the reason I ended up liking the story so much was because of the place that it was set in. Hidden Pines is the picturesque vacation on a lake spot, the sort which I often frequented as a child. Reading some of the descriptions of places in town and around the lake made it that much easier to picture what I thought Hidden Pines would look like. It almost became its own character in the fact that there was so much history and story behind that one place, for both of our characters, that the book would not have been the same without it. Kiefer provides us with beautiful imagery and makes it easy to picture every scene as if you are there.

I really felt for Allie in the fact that her family thought it would be best to drag her back to the scene of such heartbreak for her. At first it seemed as though they did not have her best interest at heart and were really doing things that they thought would push her to get over what happened, for their sakes and not hers. As things progressed it does seem to be the right idea, but only because it pushes her closer to Damian, who happens to be the one person that can really understand what she is going through.

Towards the end of the story, which is told mostly through Allie, we get to a part entitled ‘Damian’s Story’ as soon as I saw that I let out a huge sigh. I saw this going one of two ways, it not working with the story and completely disrupting the flow of it or being just what we needed to really understand Damian and what happened to him. I am glad to say that it turned out to be the latter. I thought that it fit right into the overall telling and did not feel out of place at all. Kiefer did a great job of melding the two different voices.

I ended up really enjoying the sad, but heartfelt tale that is presented in Lingering Echoes. It tells what the real life consequences of some of our actions can be and how our decisions not only affect us, but those around us. More often than not, they are felt by those that we love. This story also offers a chance at redemption and shows how two people, jaded from their experiences, can help each other heal from their pasts. 

4 Stars

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Erica Kiefer was born on Christmas Eve in Southern California to an American father whose ancestors arrived from Europe during colonial times and a Thai mother who moved to the US during high school. Adding to her rich and varied heritage, Erica grew up living abroad in Asia, including Taiwan, Fiji, Thailand and Indonesia. She gained a great respect for the beautiful mosaic of cultures found in various parts of the world. After graduating from International School Bangkok, she attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a degree in Recreation Therapy. Her career as a Recreation Therapist has allowed her to work with at-risk youth since 2007

Erica made the best decision of her life by marrying her husband in 2005 and is currently a mother of three, one of whom awaits her in heaven. Erica also loves singing, reading, writing, and satisfying her sweet-tooth with chocolate-chip cookies. Playing collegiate rugby was one of the most memorable experiences of her life, thus far.

ericakieferbooks.com | twitter.com/ericarockkiefer | facebook.com/ericakieferauthor

Be sure to check out the other stops on the Lingering Echoes tour! The full schedule is available at Itching for Books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to Shane at IFB and Erica Kiefer for the chance to participate in this tour!

Blog Tour - Heart Breaths by K.K. Hendin Review & Giveaway

Title: Heart Breaths

Author: K.K. Hendin

Published: November 5, 2013

Format Read/Pages: eBook/265

How I Acquired It: Itching for Books

Date Finished: January 5, 2014
Purchase at: Amazon | B&N

***Heart Breaths will be available for $0.99 on Amazon for this week only!!

After a tragedy nearly ripped 21 year old Madeline Darlington-Gray’s life in half, she's spent the past three years trying to put the pieces back together. But pieces never just fit back together, and when she's betrayed by those she trusts, everything crumbles. Shoving everything she owns into the trunk of her car, Maddie drives south, trying to run from her past.

Eno, North Carolina seems like the perfect place to hide. Working at a local café is light years from Maddie's Manhattan existence and for the first time in a while, she's finding her family. There's Grandma, the café owner; Samantha, the hairstylist next door with plans to make Maddie's life unsuck and Noie, the three year old girl who's stolen Maddie's heart.

And then there’s Gabriel Mendez, Noie’s single dad. He’s intrigued Maddie since the first time she met him, and while he has his own secrets, he wants more from her than just friendship. But the past never stays past, and all too soon, Maddie realizes she can't hide from hers. If she can't put the pieces of her shattered life together this time, she'll have no hope for a future.

A future she desperately wants.

~

I really, really, really loved this story. It hit me right in the feels and left me with more emotions than I ever like to have. I seem to be reading a lot of stories about loss and they all manage to make me feel for the characters as though they are real people. Hendin accomplished that and then some with Heart Breaths.

The fact that the single parent in this story is the father was something that I really appreciated. It seems that not many authors, these days at least, have fathers as the main parent, especially as a single parent. I feel as though it brought a whole new set of challenges that are not always seen, especially since Noie comes with challenges of her own. The relationship between Noie and Gabe was perfect and it made me feel as though they are the best father/daughter duo a person can ask for. Maddie seamlessly fits into the equation upon being introduced to the two of them and it just seemed natural for her to be there. 

The heartbreaking reality that is Maddie’s life is something no young woman should have to go through at that age. Given her circumstances and the reasons that drove her to flee her home, she really finds a place that she is able to let her guard down and start to find a new way to live. With the help of some kick ass friends and people that genuinely love her, she found something and someone to live for again. Watching her journey unfold made reading the story easy and had me setting a fast pace to see what new daily adventures she was embarking on along the road to happiness.

The one and only gripe I have about this story was the abrupt ending!! I feel as though I got no closure with the characters and I would have loved to see how they all turned out. Other than that, I cannot express how much I loved this story. I will definitely be on the lookout for any more stories that Hendin puts out. 

4.5 Stars

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

KK Hendin's real life ambition is to become a pink fluffy unicorn who dances with rainbows. But the schooling for that is all sorts of complicated, so until that gets sorted out, she'll just write. Preferably things with angst and love. And things that require chocolate.

kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com | twitter.com/kkhendin

Make sure to check out the other stops on K.K. Hendin's Heart Breaths tour. The full schedule is available at Itching for Books!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you Shane at IFB and K.K. Hendin for a chance to participate in this great tour!